Quoine, a Singapore-based bitcoin exchange, has recently announced that it has raised $20 million in a funding round led by venture capitalists and strategic investors, bitcoin.com reported. The latest funding follows a series A round completed in December 2014, in which the startup raised $2 million.
Until recently, the startup was headquartered in Singapore, however, now it plans to relocate to Japan. Quione will be establishing its headquarters in Tokyo, while keeping its Singapore office as a subsidiary.
Last month, the Diet in Japan (the legislature that is composed of the Lower and the Upper Houses) approved a bill, according to which cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan, and those located in foreign countries but serving the Japanese market, would be regulated equally by the Financial Services Agency (FSA). Also, by requiring registration of cryptocurrency exchanges and designating the FSA as their regulator, the government hopes to prevent money laundering and ensure protection of the cryptocurrency users.
Speaking with Bitcoin.com, Mike Kayamori, who recently took over as Quoine CEO, attributed the decision to relocate to Japan to the new and more favorable regulatory atmosphere in the country. He said that the company would continue to focus mainly on Asian business, describing the level of trading activity in the region as beyond expectations.
“Our Indonesian volume is on fire. On any given day, sometimes the Indonesian volume exceeds that of Japan. There’s a lot of demand”, Kayamori said.
He further explained that while the company did most of its trade in Japan previously, it now sees nearly 45 percent of its total volume coming from other pockets in Asia, describing it as a “great balance.” The exchange is reportedly making new records in trading volume every month, with over $240 million worth of transactions in May.
